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Statecraft : Strategies for a Changing World Paperback – Bargain Price, April 1, 2003

by Margaret Thatcher (Author)

4.6 128 ratings

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Margaret Thatcher brings her unrivalled political experience to bear on the challenges of the new millennium. Lady Thatcher's previous books on her political career have been The Downing Street Years went to No.1. She is a unique world figure and this book, containing her views about the dangers and opportunities of the new millennium, has attracted great interest both in Britain and around the world. In her own I wanted to write one more book -- and I wanted it to be about the future. In this age of spin-doctors and sound bites, the ever present danger is that leaders will follow fashion and not their instincts and beliefs. That was not how the West won the Cold War, not how we created the basis for today's freedom and prosperity. If we wish to make our achievements secure for our children and grandchildren, the West must stay vigilant and strong. In this book it will be my purpose to show that it can -- and must- be done.

Print length

512 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper Perennial
Publication date

April 1, 2003
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0002NPFSM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial; First Edition (April 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 0.01 ounces

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4.6 128 ratings

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Margaret Thatcher

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Margaret Thatcher (1925 - 2013) rose to become the first woman to lead a major Western democracy. She won three successive general elections and served as prime minister for more than eleven years, from 1979 to 1990, a record unmatched in the twentieth century.

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Christopher

A Geopolitical Tour de Force

Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2020

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Statecraft is a prescient discussion of the geopolitical challenges and opportunities facing the world. Fascinating in its political discussion! Thatcher is an extremely engaging writer - her style is crystal clear and confident (there's no equivocation) - and she calls on the vast experience she accumulated from over a decade as the head of government of a great power. Given contemporary debates and politics, Statecraft provides a unique angle on globalization. This is also a useful autobiographical account shedding some light on Thatcher's busy public life and adventures after she left office.

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Gordon Olivant

The World Through Learned Eyes

Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2002

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With Statecraft Margaret Thatcher takes us for a walk through the last quarter of the 20th century and provides us with her interpretations of the challenges we face at the dawn of the 21st. To be clear she provides ample evidence in defense of the policies she and Ronald Reagan laid down in the 1980's and a perspective that only can come from one who was intimately involved. But more importantly she provides a lucent examination the framework upon which international relations are conducted in the world today. This is not one of those lightweight looks at globalization found in the business section but rather a remarkably broad, deep and insightful look at the forces that have shaped international relations today. A must for anyone truly interested in international relations regardless of your politics.

3 people found this helpful

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iowasenior73

A good book about an amazing woman.

Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2016

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I bought this book used but the book was just as good as if it hadn't ever been read. This book was recommended by a friend and he was right on as Margaret Thatcher was an amazing woman.

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SheldonHenry

ThE arriving of the book

Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2019

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The book arrived as expected

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2016

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The speeches of Margaret Thatcher are insights into the values conservatism in a liberal society. Well worth the read.

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Thomas E. Maddocks

The Past Can Show Our Way to the Future

Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2013

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I purchased this book after reading its review in the WSJ. If you love history you will love this book.

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taking a rest

Reminds Me Of Another Prime Minister

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2002

Margaret Thatcher's place in history is already firmly established. She earned her place in history's pantheon of great leaders in large part through her unprecedented 3 consecutive electoral victories and the years in office they allowed her to serve, and she continues to closely follow and study global politics as a respected former stateswoman. She is as competent to write on world politics as any leader currently in office, and more qualified than many, whether they currently serve or have served in the past.
Lady Thatcher does not mince words, spin ideas, nor does she change her beliefs to suit the mood of the day. In this book she takes many positions that are not fashionable, politically correct, and will not be welcomed by many in or out of office. She presents her case on dozens of issues and offers summaries of what she believes should be done. I would very much enjoy a rebuttal as competent as her presentation; I doubt very much that I would be swayed. I had the privilege of attending one of her speeches, and if you find her persuasive via her writing, she is extraordinary in person.
That are many topics that deserve close focus, but I enjoyed her extended discussion of what she terms, "euro-land". I may be wrong, but I feel she equates the usefulness and future of The European Union to be as fictional as another land, that of Disney. Disney deals in fantasy, governments should not. The union is also referred to as a form of United States Of Europe; this fiction is dismembered by Lady Thatcher in great detail, and with arguments of more substance than those who advocate the union. She believes that it is inevitable that the program will fail, and that history will record it as one of the greatest follies attempted in history.
Globalism and the concepts of global citizenship are dead on arrival by any rational measure. The European Union is doomed for the same reasons. The world is not populated by homogenous people, language, laws, customs, beliefs, morals, systems of government, or common national interests. And this list is just a small sample. Members who issue the Euro give up a fundamental element of their sovereignty, their right to issue legal tender and manage their economies. The citizens are subject to the laws of their nation, and again this is compromised when a supra-authority like euro-land government develops. Defenders cite the tradition of international law, the miserable record of international law and courts preempts any such defense.
Lady Thatcher also points out the aspirations to produce a military force from the members of the union. Most of these aspirations, which are no more than still born fantasies, are often put forward by two of the members, Germany and France. It's amazing how short memories are. I am not suggesting that Germany has any desire to go to war once again, but it is historical fact that as a nation (now fully reunited) they have not worked and played well with their neighbors. France has routinely been run over or has run away from a German advance. Perhaps France is attempting to make friends with the bully that has historically damaged them so badly. They have a history of collaboration with their nation's enemies; they even round up their own citizens and deport them when told to do so by an occupier. Germany will dominate any union; France will be used as is convenient. The arrogance that is often a hallmark of France is almost laughable to read when they state their intention of creating a union to rival The United States not only economically, but to be independent militarily. As the book provides the facts about military strength and spending at present, and the ability of members to spend, the idea of a military group independent of NATO is simply absurd.
Lady Thatcher virtually walks the reader around the globe on the dozens of trips she has made since leaving office. Her observations are not drawn from reflection in her home, but from first hand experience. How many present or former leaders have stood at mass graves in the former Yugoslavia as bodies were being exhumed? She has, and these first hand on-site experiences give her the authoritative knowledge to comment and suggest. She also maintains relationships with nearly all of the heads of state she interacted with as Prime Minister and many that took office after she departed.
The book is dedicated to President Ronald Reagan, "To whom the world owes so much". The special relationship she had with President Reagan, and the good fortune the world had from these two people in occupying office together for many years, has literally written some of the greatest events of the 20th Century.
I said that she reminded me of another Prime Minister of England. My reasons for saying this grow from her candor, her absolute core beliefs, and her willingness to state what the truth is when it is so unpopular to do so. She rightfully has no time for the nonsense that is political correctness. And even though when he was asked about the likelihood of a woman as Prime Minister he thought the idea was so absurd he barely answered, I believe that were he alive, Prime Minister Churchill would have been a supporter and admirer of Prime Minister Thatcher.

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Matthias

Pflichtlektüre!

Reviewed in Germany on March 4, 2019

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Thatcher war eine Dame, die es verstand Politik zu machen. Integrität, Pragmatismus und Fokussierung auf Fakten waren ihre Hauptmerkmale.
Heute gibt es Politiker des Formats "Thatcher" nur noch selten. In West-Europa sitzt heute niemand mehr an den Hebeln der Macht, der auch nur annähernd an Thatcher heranreichen könnte. Schade für West-Europa!

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Amazon Customer

Fascinating, enlightening, actual

Reviewed in Italy on May 7, 2017

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Statecraft is the art of running states. The book talks about statecraft around the world: in the former Soviet bloc, in the (then) newly emerging Asian economies, in the new problems and opportunities brought about by the European Union and by the "global governance" plans of moving political power from nation-states toward worldwide administrative structures. Except possibly for the reflections about the Cold War, no theme the book touches is out-of-date: its relevance today, 15 years after the writing of the book, is if possible even more pronounced.

Mrs Thatcher's book strikes a balance between the conflicting needs of efficient and representative governance. More often than not, policies destroy wealth through excessive regulation, taxation, legal privileges, or indebtedness, and they push nations to the brink of collapse with fiscal and financial fragility. The temptation to tie the hands of governments is however at odds with their representativeness, and thus with the stability of democracies. Squaring the circle between these two needs is in a sense the essence of statecraft.

Nowadays, the political menu is between closed-world reactionaries and open-world utopians. Neither of them has a realistic worldview to offer. Nothing in globalism or cosmopolitanism (or even "europeism") provides the foundation for a tenable political order, devoid as they are of emotional ties, historical roots, democratic legitimacy. Nothing in the actual reaction of the "nationalist" forces against the "new world order" in both Europe and the US shows understanding of the importance of global openness, competitiveness and commitment. At least one truism between the need and usefulness of open societies, and their inherent rootlessness and unresponsiveness and thus political instability, is assumed away by both camps. The choice is between two different blind spots, not two tenable visions of what societies are up for.

Thatcher's book accepts the conflict between these two forces, and proposes a tenable compromise: political societies based on actual historical and cultural bonds (such as nations), open to the world (especially for trade and science, which are inherently global), based on accountability and responsiveness toward their respective electorates.

Mrs. Thatcher will probably roll in her grave if I call her approach a "Third Way", but that's exactly what the book is about: the depiction of a feasible and realistic alternative to the unsatisfactory menus offered by today's politics.

3 people found this helpful

Mrs. A. Campion

Insightful, articulate thought provoking study of foreign affairs.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 28, 2013

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Buy this book if you're interested in a bold, opinionated perspective on foreign affairs from someone right at the heart of the matters discussed for 20 years. Accepting that given its publication in 2001/2002 some of it has inevitably been superseded by subsequent events its still incredibly powerful and the comments about the inevitable move of the EU to a federal Europe and the challenge that would pose for the UK uncannily prescient!

4 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Fantastic book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2020

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Very good book, written in her style. I purchased a second hand copy in very good condition. I opened the front page to see it had been signed by the lady herself. Now one of my prized possessions.

7 people found this helpful

Albert Schmidt

Für Kenner

Reviewed in Germany on April 7, 2013

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Ein weitsichtiges Buch einer großen Dame der Weltpolitik. Viele aktuelle politische Themen sind hier bereits beschrieben und werden interessant durchdekliniert. Beeindruckend.

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Statecraft : Strategies for a Changing World Paperback – Bargain Price, April 1, 2003

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